Sweden… lush greenery, sprawling meadows, towering old trees, and sparkling lakes. Truly, nature’s bounty is evident here. Only… lately, something is not quite right. Scientists say the little insects that help paint this serene picture are disappearing, and it seems to be happening faster lately. They’ve decided to use something called “hyperspectral LiDAR” to help them solve the mystery. We’re telling you because LiDAR is taking over the world, so you need to know about it.
Basically, insect populations are on the decline all over the world, not just in Sweden. Sweden is doing research into it, and using LiDAR, so that’s where we’ll begin the story. Experts say that factors such as chemical use, systemic insecticide use, climate change, and others are piling up against insects and causing their numbers to decline. This special technology allows researchers to create a 3D map of terrains, and this is being used to figure out how to save insects.
LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging, and it’s a very important technology. This is especially true because we’re moving toward a world where many devices are interconnected, can create and share energy, and machines will increasingly work for and alongside us. Thus, they will need to be able to “see” their world. That’s what LiDAR does: it allows computers (and the machines they go in) to “see” the world. It uses laser pulses to measure distances and create maps from that information.
LiDAR is incredibly powerful… it can penetrate vegetation and clouds. This means places we can’t reach normally can finally be mapped and have deep data collected about them. And there are so many different kinds. There’s airborne LiDAR, terrestrial LiDAR, mobile LiDAR… think of it this way, would you drive your car with your eyes closed? LiDAR may prove that’s what we’ve been doing… and watching bugs isn’t the only thing we’re testing this theory on.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and 3D at Depth are working together on LiDAR technology that maps the seafloor… the sea has long been referred to as the true final frontier. Their particular flavor is called Wide Swath Subsea LiDAR (WiSSL) seafloor mapping technology, and they insist theirs is next-generation stuff. With decades of experience with this type of tech under the collective hood, they may be telling the truth.
The team is aiming for an incredible one-centimeter resolution surveying. To do this, they have to get the tech smaller, weighing less, and requiring less power than what other LiDAR makers are offering. Such in-depth maps of the sea floor would be a treasure trove of data about an area that is otherwise restrictive for humans, making it hard for us to accurately assess it. These maps would mean no more flying blind.
Logistics
LiDAR will help propel us into the “last mile” sweet spot for package deliveries, and companies like three-dimensional light detection and ranging (LiDAR) solutions maker Hesai Technology is hoping to capitalize on that. The company, which recently raised $190 million via a Nasdaq offering, makes tech crucial to things like autonomous mobility, advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS), and delivery and logistics robots.
In Portland, Oregon, a company called PreAct Technologies is working on a LiDAR technology called near-field software-definable flash LiDAR… and they recently bagged $14 million in Series B funds to help with their intended push further into industries like automotive, trucking, agriculture, healthcare, and robotics. Led by Squared Capital, and with participation from the likes of Luminate and State Farm Ventures, they want their piece of the pie.
Just like any technology, LiDAR has its problems. For one, it requires a bunch of moving parts. And, like anything else, it’s still more expensive than it needs to be. Never fear… we have smart folks working on the problem at places like The University of Washington. Not too long ago, researchers there made a new LiDAR tech that integrates onto a computer chip and uses sound waves to steer a laser beam, just like a tiny searchlight.
That means we can take this current wave of autonomous vehicles and improve upon them, and make them at scale, cheaper… hypothetically. LiDAR is widely applicable… we’re talking topographic mapping, autonomous vehicles, forestry, urban planning, archaeology, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. If you’re in these spaces and LiDAR isn’t on your radar… we think it should be. Come back next week, we’ll have more from the IPO space.